The Last Run
by matth2extreme
Summary: Han and Chewie are heroes of the New Republic, they return once again to their smuggler roots when the Yuuzhan Vong threaten Galactic Peace!
1. Remembrance

The Last Run  
  
Author: Matth2extreme  
Author's Note: This story that you are about to read is in the Star Wars Alternate Universe. It roughly takes place before the events of Vector Prime, when the Yuuzhan Vong are introduced.   
Disclaimer: All credit goes to George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. This story was written for pure entertainment and I am receiving no money whatsoever for its use.  
  
Chapter 1: Remembrance  
  
They had been traveling for days. Two of the most noted heroes in the Rebellion were en route to the planet Bastion. Their last stop had been the world of Ord Mantell. That was where Han had met their contact and had picked up their cargo, which happened to be weapons. Han and Chewie personally volunteered for this mission because they were sure that they could get it done. The previous attempts at increasing rebellion were less successful, some ships were destroyed by the Vong, or others were too slow to spread the word. They were 2 of best people the Rebellion had, and knew they could be counted on. Their mission was to aid in the planet's rebellion against the Yuuzhan Vong, in any way that they could. "Hey Chewie, you think we can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs?" Han asked his friend, the huge 250-year-old Wookie.   
  
Chewie rumbled an affirmative, "Hrrrnnnnnn." This in Wookie, was the Basic equivalent of, "Yes."  
  
It had been a long time since Han had broken the record for the fastest Kessel Run. "Chewie, remember the first time when we flew the Run? We had to dump our spice because of the Imperials. And when we went back to get it, it was…"   
  
[…Gone, yeah I remember. The blasted Imps were still there waiting for us, and we were chased all the way out of the Maw.] Chewie said.  
  
"Yeah, and by luck, I skimmed one of those black holes. Somehow, when I did that, I shortened our time. I don't think I'll ever really figure out why it did that, but I'm just glad we got away," Han said, grinning.   
  
Han and Chewie had been carrying a load of glitterstim spice for Jabba the Hutt, and had to dump their cargo because they were spotted by Imperials. They marked the area that they had left all the spice in, but when they returned later to reclaim it, it was gone. Following that incident, a large bounty had been placed on Han's head, and if not for Luke, he would still be in that block of carbonite.   
  
Almost everyone in the galaxy knew Han Solo as being the husband of Princess Leia, hero of the Rebellion, father of Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin (all three being Jedi Knights), brother-in-law to the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, amongst many other things. Chewie had been Han's co-pilot and friend from the very beginning. Han had met him before they had ever even thought of joining the Rebel Alliance. At first Han was mad at Chewie and didn't want him following him around all the time, because of the life debt that Chewie owed Han. But it was Chewie who had saved Han's life in a bar fight. Having his life saved by the furry oaf, quickly changed Han's mind, and he decided that it would be nice to have a co-pilot. Despite the language barrier, they understood each other perfectly well. The pair had been in the smuggling business for a very long time. They began when the Empire was in total control of the galaxy and stopped when the New Republic was in control. With the Vong as a major threat, and the New Republic broken up, Han and Chewie helped to spread rebellion in Vong controlled worlds.  
  
They had agreed to deliver a cargo of weapons for the oppressed planet, Bastion, which used to be one of the core worlds in the Empire. It also had been home to Lord Vader's private retreat. After the New Republic defeated the Empire, they had liberated Bastion. But now, with their war against the Yuzzhan Vong, the world was forgotten because it was so far out on the Outer Rim. The Vong easily took over and controlled Bastion, making life a living hell for the people or as the Vong liked to call them, infidels, still living there… 


	2. Enter the Vong

Chapter 2: Enter the Vong  
  
In another part of the galaxy, a certain evil was lurking and waiting for a chance to strike. Franek'tcha Pah, leader of the Yuuzhan Vong force that had been sent by the warmaster, Tsavong Lah, to wipe out the rebellion on the infidel planet Bastion, was extremely irritated. The Yuuzhan Vong were an unknown species from another part of the universe. Roughly humanoid in shape, they often mutilated their bodies with scars and tattoos to show their rank and also to prove their worth to their gods. Their fleshy faces are distinguished by several key features, in addition to the scars and tattoos that define their social standing: bluish sacks beneath their eyes, sloping foreheads, and lipless mouths. Being from another galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong cellular structure contained no midi-chlorians, thereby rendering them untouchable to the Force. What was known about them was that they had first visited the known galaxy fifty years before the attacks on Belkadan and Dubrillion. The fact that the Vong were invisible to the Force made them very deadly combatants to the Jedi. They wear vonduun crab armor, a living carapace that protects a warrior in combat that can even temporarily withstand blaster strikes and lightsaber blows.   
  
Along with their self mutilation, they had to be successful in battle, which meant destroying this group of humans. The Yuuzhan Vong were a greater threat to the Rebel Alliance than the Empire ever was. The Vong had no intentions of being merciful to the infidels. They would be either turned into slaves or they would be slaughtered. If you became a slave for the Vong, you'd most likely end up being sacrificed when they deemed you useless. Anything not Vong, aside from the Peace Brigade, had no chance of survival. To the Yuuzhan Vong, all machinery was blasphemous. Whenever the Vong attacked, not only did they kill infidels, but they destroyed droids, buildings, ships, speeders, anything and everything that wasn't organic.  
  
Franek'tcha Pah's cruiser analog, Krakow, was not very old. It had been grown out of the best yorik coral that had been available. He had destroyed many infidels with his ship, and he had a glowing sense of pride for it. The commander stalked about his very sparse bridge, as the eerie glow of lambents illuminated his mangled features. He had many tattoos on his face, but what really made his face stand out was that he had two sallow cuts running from the sides of his nose to the sides of his lips. They were deep enough that you could see right into his mouth without it being opened. Along with this nightmare mask, he had a large razor bug protruding from his chest, so every time he breathed, the bug sliced deeper and deeper into his chest. His thorak beetle foot, made odd clacking sounds as it connected with the organically grown yorik coral. Franek'tcha's newly created foot implant was not working to its full capacity. The thorak beetle continually twitched and buzzed every time he stood in place for too long. The Yuuzhan Vong relished pain, but the constant twitching made it hard for him to concentrate on planning the upcoming battle. Franek'tcha Pah decided to ignore the twitching and tingling sensations that the thorak beetle sent him. He continued to stalk about until he came across one of his Lieutenants. Franek'tcha Pah asked, "Kang'La Ku, why haven't the warriors smashed the rebellion on Bastion as of yet?"  
  
"I apologize, Warmaster. The infidels are surprisingly resourceful and there is word that there may be a Jeedai on the planet that is helping them," replied Kang'La Ku, Franek'tcha's second in command.   
  
"I am not Warmaster, Kang'La Ku. I want you to command Xyzchmana Tin, to lead two of his interdictor ships with our best warriors in them, to quell the rebellion on the planet. Make sure that you do not underestimate these infidels, because we have already lost enough Yuuzhan Vong to make up for this war. I want you to personally see that Bastion is under our control by the time you are done. If you fail, I will see to it that Warmaster Tsavong Lah knows of your failure, and you will be punished accordingly," said Franek'tcha Pah.  
  
"Yes, I understand. And thank you for this wonderful honor Commander. I will sacrifice these infidels to our great god, Yun-Yuuzhan, and we will have achieved glory!" With that decree, he spun on his heel and strode out of the bridge where Franek'tcha Pah stared out icily at the stars. Franek'tcha Pah knew that if he was successful in this battle against the infidels, his thorak beetle implant would be fine. The gods would be pleased, and Yun-Yuuzhan would smile down upon him. As Franek'tcha Pah was thinking these thoughts, his personal villip began to stir. Villips were organic technology that the Yuuzhan Vong created, since they did not use comlinks like the infidels did. When he stroked the villip to life, it took the shape of Tsavong Lah.  
  
"Franek'tcha Pah, I want you to personally go to Bastion to eliminate the Jeedai threat. With the Jeedai dead, these infidels will lose morale and it will be that much simpler for us to turn them into slaves."  
  
"Warmaster, I will do as you say. I have already sent Kang'La Ku along with Xychmana Tin down to the planet with two interdictors and a cruiser analog. We will make sure that the infidels know never to rebel against us again!"   
  
"Good, Yun-Yuuzhan smiles down upon you Franek'tcha Pah. Report back to me with your victory," and with that Franek'tcha Pah's villip returned back to its normal spherical shape. Franek'tcha Pah then left the bridge and went to his   
quarters to meditate. 


	3. Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter 3: Behind Enemy Lines  
  
The familiar lines of hyperspace reverted into the normal star patterns of real space, as the Millennium Falcon soared into view. They were to give the weapons to the resistance leader on the planet and then pick up parts for a planetary shield for the planet Kessel. "Chewie, stay sharp. There are interdictors and coralskippers all over the place out here. The Vong ships have those damned dovin basals, so watch out for their black holes," Han said irritably. The dovin basals were deployed by the Vong ships. They were living organisms that were used for defense and propulsion. The basals were able to manipulate gravity, and could project miniature black holes that deflected or absorbed incoming enemy fire.  
  
Chewie roared a loud, "Rrrrrrrrrrhnn" in his agreement with Han. Chewie hoped that they'd survive this, he desperately wanted to see his family on Kashyyyk. The Vong hadn't conquered Kashyyyk yet, and Chewie knew that they wouldn't take his home world without a fight. As Han and Chewie navigated the space lanes down to the planet they saw several Yuuzhan Vong interdictors hovering in the planet's orbit.   
  
At that same moment, Kang'La Ku and Xychmana Tin, were in their separate interdictors, Perdition and Gidrah. The Vong commanders were commanding their squadrons of coral skippers against the infidel freighter. "Commander Ku, we have found out that the infidel ship is none other than the Millennium Falcon. The pilot is the father of the Jeedai children: Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo," said the pilot Mua'shad Lah.  
  
"This is good news for the Warmaster. He has been searching for this ship for quite a long while. Disable it, but do not destroy it. Inform the coral skippers to shoot plasma and grutchins at it," replied Kang'La Ku. Soon after his directive was issued the coral skippers began firing at the Millennium Falcon.  
  
"Ahhh, Chewie, get to the gun well, there's six coralskippers on our tail!" Han said frantically as he juked the deadly plasma blasts. The only way he'd be able to get to Bastion's surface would be to evade the many coralskippers and the interdictors. Chewie hustled up to the gun well and strapped himself in, but knew that he had to be careful to ration his great wookie strength, so that he didn't break the gun yoke as he had once done in the past. Han keyed up his ship's communicator and began to send transmissions to the resistance. "Bastion, Bastion, come in. This is Han Solo of the Rebel Alliance, I have weapons and other material that I think you may be interested in. Be ready for my landing," Han said. He then quickly clicked off the transmission and concentrated on flying.   
  
Soon after Han's transmission he realized that the planet never gave him a response. I wonder if something happened to the Resistance? Maybe they were already wiped out… He shook his head to clear his mind, and set himself to the task at hand. As Han wildly flipped the Falcon on her side, he saw out on the port side that Chewie was able to nail a coral skipper. Han had linked his quadlasers in a stutter fire pattern that his daughter had developed. It was a tactic that the Rebels knew would work against dovin basals. Chewie's shot went past the ship's dovin basal, and connected squarely with the skip's cockpit. The ship exploded in a cloud of yorik coral and plasma. "Hey great shot Chewie, but watch out that lead interdictor is launching its grutchins at us!" Han yelled.  
  
From underneath his cognition hood, Mua'shad Lah could see the infidel ship attempting to evade his squadron's shots. Mua'shad was a nephew of the Yuuzhan Vong's great Warmaster. He had a symbiotic relationship with his ship. Whenever he flew it, they became one, everything he did, the ship did. The cognition hood made the Falcon appear as a large target, just waiting to be hit by a plasma blast. Mua'shad Lah ordered his pilots to cover him as he went in for the kill. He had complete faith in himself as he went in, shooting plasma.   
  
Chewie began to pay attention on both the skips and the incoming grutchins. Grutchins were creatures that are able to eat through a starships hull, which left it open for decompression. While Han evaded the attacks as best he could, a few of the skips were able to hit the Falcon with plasma blasts. The Millennium Falcon careened to her side and started to spin way too fast down to the planet. Han fought to control the ship, but to no avail. Oh no, the inertial dampners are off! Han thought as he heard alarms beeping. "Chewie!" Han yelled, "We're going down! Brace for impact!" He broke orbit and felt his sensor dish give way as he plummeted down to Bastion's rocky surface. At the last second, Han was able to deploy the landing gear, but he still crashed hard onto the surface.   
  
The coralskippers did not bother to follow them down, but decided to let the warriors on the planet deal with the infidels. Even though that Kang'Lah Ku was Mua'shad's commanding officer, Mua'shad did not have to report directly back to him. Instead he had a special villip that allowed him to speak directly to Franek'tcha Pah. Mua'shad Lah stroked his villip and reported to Franek'tcha Pah, "Commander, we have successfully disabled the Millennium Falcon. It has crash-landed onto the planet's surface."  
  
"Good work, Mua'shad Lah. You please you're uncle and you please the gods. I will have the warriors deal with Solo and the wookie." 


	4. Bastion

Chapter 4: Bastion  
  
"Hey Chewie, you OK up there?" Han asked his friend. The Millennium Falcon had just received one of her worse bumps in the past years. The sensor array dish was now beyond simple repair, so Han would not be able to transmit any messages across space. He and Chewie still had to deliver their cargo of weapons to the Resistance, before they could even try to leave the planet. After Han's question, Chewie rumbled an assent to Han that he was OK, and demanded to know what happened.   
  
After the brief battle, the Falcon crash landed onto the planet's surface. "One of the cruiser analogs up there hit us with some plasma, knocked out the rear deflector shield. It also knocked out the sensor dish, so now we're blind and deaf," Han replied sourly. As Han said this, he began to look around and take in the surroundings. The planet was very barren and there was definitely evidence that a battle had taken place. From where Han crashed, he was able to make out the shape of where Darth Vader's castle had been. Along with the scattered debris, there were the bodies of rebels, Vong, and Shamed Ones.   
  
"Damn Chewie. Looks like we missed the fun here huh?"   
  
[Yeah, at least for now it looks like we did Han. Let's go get our cargo and get out of here, so that we don't tract any unnecessary attention,] Chewie said to Han.   
  
"Well Chewie, I agree whole heartedly with ya, so let's go," Han said. Chewbacca went into their battered ship to retrieve heavier weapons. After they were locked and loaded, they began to load the cargo onto a dolly. They dragged it all down onto the surface, and looked around hoping to see signs of the Resistance. But to their dismay, there was none except for the dead bodies strewn about.   
  
"Chewie, make sure your bowcaster is loaded. If we encounter any of the Vong, there's bound to be some shootin'," Han said. Han already had his BlasTech DL-44 strapped to his thigh, and in addition to that weapon, he carried a larger rifle. Chewie rumbled in agreement, and checked the charge on his weapon.  
  
They started out along the rocky path, pushing the hovering dolly in front of them. Just as Han predicted, there was a Yuuzhan Vong patrol group out on the path in front of them. They were all armed with amphistaffs, and were wearing vonduun crab armor. The patrol noticed the duo, and began to throw razor and thud bugs at them. Chewie took the first shot at what looked like the leader, but his shot was easily evaded by the warrior. Directly after the warrior dodged the blast, the group then charged Han and Chewie with their amphistaffs in full snake-form.   
  
"Ahhh, Chewie, it looks like we're outnumbered here. Any suggestions would be good," Han said as he fired off rounds at the nearest warrior. "Aim for any exposed area on their body! It's our only chance to survive!" Han hollered at Chewie. The Vong were hurling thud bugs along with razor bugs at them. One of the razor bugs hit a cargo container, and flew right through it. Han and Chewie continued to shoot at the large party of Vong, occasionally hitting one or two. "Chewie, it's lookin' pretty hopeless here. We're barely makin' a dent in that patrol. I don't know what we're gonna do…" Han said. As the firefight raged on, more and more laser blasts joined Han and Chewie. "What the…?" Han said as he looked around in amazement. There were many members of the Resistance popping up guerrilla style; they were all taking shots at the Yuuzhan Vong.   
  
Kang'La Ku was wrong, there were no Jeedai. There was only a very well trained Resistance that was intent on killing Yuuzhan Vong. Even though the sides were now as equal as they would get, there still weren't enough dead Vong. Han heard some soldier yell, "Now! Hit the detonators, hit 'em now!!" Following that, the sides of the road where the Vong were blew apart and inward in a violent explosion. It was a good tactic that killed or incapacitated all who stood in the blast's way.   
  
"Minions of Xendor, I'll be damned Chewie! Those guys just saved our asses!" Han said gleefully. The surviving Vong were still hurling thud bugs at the rebels, but for the most part they were retreating. With this lapse in the battle, Han and Chewie were able to seek some refuge from the fight. As they were walking around, they sought out the Resistance's leader. They found him; or rather he found them as he was jogging towards them.  
  
As Han walked up to the man, he introduced himself. "My name's Han Solo, I…" was all Han could say before the commander responded.  
  
"Captain Solo! Hey I know all about you, you're a legend. I grew up hearing about your adventures with Jedi Master Skywalker, Princess Leia, and…" The commander was a stocky man, who looked to be in his late thirties if not early forties. But from the way he was acting, Han would have to say he was almost like a kid.   
  
"Whoa, hold on there. Not so fast, take a breath, kid," Han said jokingly. The men had clasped hands, and the young commander was visibly shaking. Regardless of the way the commander was acting around him, Han could tell that this man was a very capable leader.   
  
"Sorry Sir. But it's just, it's just so...s..so… I apologize for my manners Captain Solo, my name is Jared d'Tana. I organized the Resistance here against the Vong. There aren't that many of us, but with your weapons you brought us and the help we get from the Rebel Alliance, I think that we can take the Vong, Sir."  
  
"Yeah, I can tell by your situation that you guys could use some help. My wife, myself, and Luke, are working on setting up various cells of rebels to create a new Alliance. I'd ask for payment on the weapons, but in this case, how about you just send your best techs to work on the Falcon. She suffered some damage from one of those Vong ships," Han said.   
  
"Thank you, Sir. I'll send my men right now, and you and Chewbacca will be able to leave," d'Tana said.  
  
"By the way, how did you become a commander in the Resistance?" Han inquired.  
  
D'Tana smiled grimly and said, "The Empire killed my family, and I wanted to hurt those bastards anyway that I could. So I joined the original Rebel Alliance, and I was quickly promoted when my squad and I took out an Imperial outpost. After the clones of Palpatine along with his other Dark Jedi were killed, my men and I ransacked Vader's castle. Now it serves as our base, and protects us from the Vong. I've served the New Republic my whole life. When my men and I heard that it had been overrun by the Vong, we continued to serve it."  
  
"Yeah, war's rough. I've had my share of losses, but they don't stop me from defending the people I love. Alright, let's get going d'Tana." Han remembered so long ago when he was just a cocky smuggler, helping the rebels just so that he'd be able to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt.   
  
After their conversation, Han and Chewie finished helping d'Tana set up his new armaments and weapons. They walked over to where his techs were fixing the Falcon. Han put his arm around d'Tana's shoulders and said, "Jared, you are a lifesaver. Your people are really good. If not for you, we'd be up there blind against the Vong."  
  
"No. Thank you, Han. With the parts you gave us, we stand a fighting chance. We'll report back to intelligence as soon as we can, as soon as we rid ourselves of the Vong," d'Tana said.   
  
Han and Chewie bid the commander farewell and boarded their ship to leave the planet. There were still many interdictors, analogs, and coralskippers in Bastion's orbit, but with the sensor dish repaired, Han was able to evade them before they were really able to engage him. They had to make one more stop before they could rendezvous with the Rebel fleet. With Bastion behind them, Han punched the Falcon into hyperspace towards the planet, Kessel.  
  
  
Kang'Lah Ku and Xyzchmana Tin had failed the Warmaster along with Franek'tcha Pah. They knew that death would soon embrace them, but the Yuuzhan Vong welcomed death. But under these circumstances, the fact they had Failed!, did they not want to meet death. The two commanders led their squadron back to the Krakow. Their ships docked and a living section of their ships connected to the Krakow allowing them to board it. Word was sent to them that Franek'tcha Pah wanted to see them immediately in his chambers.   
  
The two commanders strode bravely into Pah's chamber. If they felt any fear, they did not show it. They knew they had failed and accepted full responsibility. Standing in the back, in the shadows, was Nom Anor. Nom Anor, was wearing a living cloak, that swirled around his powerful body. The commanders knew that Anor was Tsavong Lah's personal executor, and any reason for his arrival would not be good for their livelihood. "Kang'Lah Ku, Xyzchmana Tin, you have failed me. You let Solo and the Wookie escape, unharmed! You had them in your grasp, yet you failed. Your warriors had them, yet they also failed!" Franek'tcha Pah roared at them, with visible rage.   
  
"Sir, we did everything we could and…" Kang'Lah Ku started.   
  
"Don't speak! You have already failed me in every way possible, there is no need to fail at your pathetic excuse as well," Pah said. Franek'tcha Pah, raised his hand, and Nom Anor came out of the shadows. He had a razor bug in one hand and his amphistaff in the other. The two commanders, stood there defiantly in front of Franek'tcha Pah. But at the last moment, Xyzchmana reached out and grabbed an amphistaff from one of the guards in the chamber. Franek'tcha Pah was barely surprised by the fool's choice. Before Xyzchmana could use his staff, Nom Anor had already thrown the razor bug at him. It hit him squarely in the chest, and was wedged in his rib cage. The commander went down with an OOMPF! Anor had his amphistaff out and already the head of it was dripping venomous poison. As Xyzchmana was writhing on the floor, hissing with pain, Anor walked and calmly stood over him. With no remorse or pity, he jabbed him twice in the neck with his staff. All the while, Kang'Lah Ku watched this, knowing that he was next. As the commander's death throes abated, Franek'tcha Pah said, "Now, Kang'Lah Ku, I do believe that you have a mission you have yet accomplished."  
  
Surprised that he wasn't killed, Ku nodded sharply at Franek'tcha Pah, and strode out of the room before his decision changed. "Nom Anor, follow him closely, make sure that he does not fail again," Pah said.  
  
Nom Anor just looked at Franek'tcha Pah, before tipping his head in acknowledgement. As he left, Franek'tcha Pah thought to himself, Good. Now the infidels will finally be wiped out, the Warmaster will be pleased. Maybe someday he would not have to bow to a Warmaster, he thought, because he would be the Warmaster. 


	5. En Route to Kessel

Chapter 5: En Route to Kessel  
  
It had been home to the exotic scientist Qwi Xux, and it had been the location of a top secret Imperial think tank. It was here where Han had first met the Jedi Master Kyp Durron, when they escaped from Moruth Doole. They were back in the Kessel system, which contained the Maw Cluster along with "the Pit." The Maw Cluster was a cluster of black holes that drew in everything that got near them. In the middle of the cluster was the old Maw Installation where the Death Star prototype had once been. Almost 11 years ago, the threat of the Imperial Remnant was rampant, but now it was the Vong. Han shuddered at the memory of the deadly glitterstim spiders that had chased himself and Kyp through the dark mines of Kessel. It was not an experience he would care to repeat. All he had to do was pick up the cargo that was waiting for him on the planet. It happened to be glitterstim which the Rebels would be able to sell on the black market.   
  
"Chewie, coming out of hyperspace in five…four…three…two," Han told his partner. With a silent "one," Chewie pulled on the decelerator lever, and the rusty color of Kessel appeared against the blackness of space. In some areas, there were dark disk shaped objects, which were the black holes that made up the Maw. "I don't see any Vong activity yet, but be ready. I doubt that they're crazy enough to play tag with the black holes out here Chewie."  
  
[Yeah, those scarheads are smart enough to know that black holes are suicide.] Even though Chewie voiced his agreement to Han, he secretly believed that the Vong probably would come all the way out to Kessel. They'd do whatever was necessary in order to squash the insurrection against them.   
  
This time when Han was in range of the planet he did not try to contact them on his comm. He didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to himself as he did when they arrived at Bastion.   
  
Han flew the Falcon towards the planet, as many old memories began to come back to him, most of them were bad. His luck held all the way as he piloted the ship, no Vong ever showed up on his scanners. "Okay Chewie, all we gotta do is pick up that load of spice on the planet and it's good riddance."  
  
[Yeah, good riddance to this hell hole of a planet. I bet the Alliance will put this spice to good use.] Chewie said to Han.  
  
"Yeah, there are still guys that'd pay a bundle for this stuff. We really need more ships and weapons if we hope to stand any chance against the Vong." Han replied. The war had gotten so desperate that the Rebels wouldn't look a vrelt in the mouth. Anything they could sell, and knowing that spice was very valuable, would help their cause. As they were talking, a light on his comm began to blink.   
  
"Millennium Falcon, this is Kessel Air Security. Please state your business as to why you are here," said the controller. Han smirked and thought to himself that these guys must be pretty stupid, if they didn't know why one of the most famous smuggler ships was paying Kessel a visit.  
  
"Pal, we're here to pick up a load of spice. We're on direct orders from the Alliance, so do us a favor, give us clearance to land," Han said irritably.   
  
The controller stuttered and replied, "Y-yes sir, sorry sir. My apologies, I didn't know who this was and…" he started to ramble. After Han switched off his comm, he began his descent into the planet's atmosphere. As the Falcon lowered herself onto the landing pad, Han took note of the turbolasers that were in a perimeter around the docking station. They can afford weapons, but not an air generator, he thought sourly. He and Chewie had to don breath masks because Kessel's atmosphere was too thin to breathe normally. As the pair walked up to the docking station, a group of people came out to meet him. Han recognized one of the men.   
  
A dark skinned man, with the skin the color of vine caffeine, greeted Han. If Lando had a brother, this man was him. "Welcome Captain Solo, my name's Rychard Sithole. How've you been you old pirate?!" exclaimed Sithole.  
  
Han grinned and replied, "Well just fine, you know how it goes Rychard. The business has been booming with all of these Vong attacks, and I just know that you'll cut me in on a good deal for the spice." Sithole had once been a very good smuggler back in the old days, when the Empire was still in existence. When Lando had given up on the mines, he gave the whole business to Rychard. Lando had originally introduced him to Han on Nar Shaddaa, back when Han had lived there.   
  
"Of course, you'll get a good price Han. You're an old friend, you get all the perks!" he laughed. "But let's go inside our facilities here."  
  
"Haha, perks you say? Kessel still doesn't have that much of an atmosphere buddy. Yeah, let's go in, any place is better than out here," Han said.  
  
The group began to walk into Kessel's docking station. When they got inside they were able to move their breath masks and talk normally. "Well Chewie and I picked up parts for a planetary shield, back on Bastion," Han said.  
  
"That's perfect, Han. We need a shield just in case the Vong wanna try and halt our spice production." Sithloe replied.  
  
"Yeah, those Vong are smart bastards. They would try to do something like that," Han remarked. "Even with a shield, you're looking at a nasty fight if they do decide to attack."  
  
"I know they might, but for a business such as ours, we gotta take the risks. Also, we're not totally defenseless. You saw our turbolaser mounts on the way in, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah, I did Rych. They'll help you, but just try to stay sharp will ya? You can't afford to be caught off guard," Han replied.  
  
Little did the group know, but there was already an enemy in their midst. One of Rychard's guards, was donning an ooglith masquer, an organism that made the Vong underneath appear human. The masquer filled all of the Vong's pours, and resembled a tall human. This warrior's mission was to kill Han and the wookie. He was waiting for the infidels to get up again, before he would make his kill.  
  
"Rych, we, the Alliance could use you. We need all the help we can get; I know you're a great pilot. I know that the life of a spice administrator is great, but we'd pay you," Han said.  
  
"I wish I could Han, I wish I could help. But Kessel needs me; if I wasn't here there'd be no one to oversee the spice production. But look, I'll see what I can do, if I can find myself an able substitute, I'll join," Rychard said solemnly.   
  
"OK, that's all I ask, Rych. Just think about it. Thanks for the spice; we'll put it to good use. Maybe we'll use the money to create a new Death Star, or something that'll wipe out the Vong in one engagement," Han kidded. The two men then got up, and shook hands.   
  
"I'll be seeing you later, you old rascal. Stay alive, you're my best customer!" Rychard said with a laugh.  
  
"No, you won't be seeing him later INFIDEL!" yelled the warrior. The startled men, turned and looked at the guard that yelled at them. As they did this, the warrior touched a small bump behind his ear lobe, and the ooglith masquer oozed out of his body with a resounding SCHLEP! Coiled around his body was the deadly amphistaff that was his weapon. He whipped it off of his body, and struck down the nearest guard.  
  
Han shoved Rychard out of the way, and knocked over a table for protection. The remaining guards took cover and pulled their blasters. Chewie, near Han, loaded his bowcaster and crouched behind the table. Rychard had already un-holstered his weapon, a small but deadly hold out blaster. They all began shooting at the warrior, who happened to be right in the middle of the crossfire. The warrior pulled out a few razor bugs from a pouch on his hip, and whirled them at the table where Han and Chewie were.   
  
"Look out Chewie! He's got those razor bugs, this table probably won't protect us for too much longer," Han exclaimed. He knew that there were only so many weak points on the armor that the Vong was wearing. "Aim for his neck, knees, or armpits!" Han yelled. The Vong threw two more razor bugs, one completely going through a different table, killing a guard there. The other nicked, Rychard in his right arm, making him drop his blaster. He screamed in pain, but in anger went down to retrieve his gun to make the Vong pay for doing that. "No! Don't go for it!!" Han yelled. "Chewie, cover me!" Han dove out from the table, shooting at the Vong, seconds later Chewie followed shooting his powerful quarrels at the warrior. Han tackled Rychard, and Chewie shot over the two. One of Chewie's shots caught the warrior in his exposed throat. He made a hissing sound as he went down, and hit the ground floor hard. "Hey you alright, Rychard?" Han asked, concerned.  
  
"Ahhh, sh…. Yeah, I'm alright, it's nothing a bacta patch can't fix. But dammit Han, did you see that? I lost one of my own guards, to a guy that I thought was on my side!" Rychard said through gritted teeth.   
  
"Yeah, I know. It's not your fault, the Vong have already infiltrated us with those masquers. It's too hard to tell most of the time. Let's get you patched up, because Chewie and I had better blast out of here, before the going gets any rougher." Han and Chewie helped Rychard get to a medic, and then they ran back to their ship, when he assured them he'd be OK.   
  
Already the sky above Kessel had grown dark, with Vong ships. The warrior had alerted the Vong, that Han and the wookie were here on the planet. Damn, they're better than I thought if they followed me and Chewie through the Maw, Han thought. The ground defenses on Kessel, began to stir as they got ready for a possible attack. There were a few other smuggler ships that began to take off, not wanting any part in an attack. As Han lifted the ship up, he used his comm to contact the Alliance. "Zero, Zero, Alpha, come in. I repeat Zero, Zero, Alpha; we have a tango in the skies. We're currently en route to the rendezvous point."   
  
Han received a burst of static after his transmission, but after a few seconds, it responded. "Roger that, Falcon. Come on home, be careful!" Sure thing Control, that's easy for you to say. You don't got a slew of Vong on your tail. Kessel was behind them, but now they had to deal with the Yuuzhan Vong strike force. 


	6. Kessel and Beyond

Chapter 6: Kessel and Beyond  
  
Kang'La Ku, along with his squadron had followed the route that the Correlian pilot had taken. It was a very treacherous path, through black holes and other perils. The Yuzzhan Vong almost admired his bravery for flying through that area of space. For that, he'll receive a quick and honorable death, thought Ku. Every so often, when Ku wasn't looking at the viewport, he was glancing over his shoulder at the being behind him. Ku scowled at the Warmaster's executor that was keeping a watchful eye on him. Ku knew that if he failed again, he would be on the receiving end of Anor's amphistaff. Kang'La Ku ignored that fact for the moment, because he knew that he would not fail. He went up to where his villip was to contact the pilot, Mua'shad Lah. 


End file.
